The hi-hat closed sound, in general, is the dominantly desired sound created by a drummer from a hi-hat musical device, with the created open sound being periodical and short in duration. Generally, most hi-hat musical devices in the known art operate under the same basic principle in which two cymbals, in their rest or neutral position, are positioned in a separated open manner, actuated by the use of a spring or other mechanism, that is subsequently overcome by the drummer actuating a foot pedal. This pedal is operatively connected to the top or upper cymbal to bring it into contact with the usually stationary lower cymbal. Therefore, the drummer must continuously apply pressure to the hi-hat stand's pedal, achieving the closed hi-hat sound while playing on the cymbals with drumsticks controlled by the hands. The drummer will then occasionally release pressure for a short period of time to achieve the open hi-hat sound with the drumstick to his or her desired rhythm. This process can fully occupy one of the drummer's feet. This requirement is undesirable; restricting the drummer's musical options, but it has been generally accepted and tolerated by many in the percussion instrument world.
A hi-hat musical device solving the problem of allowing a drummer to not have to dedicate one foot chiefly to depressing an actuating pedal of a hi-hat musical device to achieve a closed hi-hat sound with a drumstick, while rarely or only frequently, intermediately lifting the foot to achieve an open hi-hat sound, would allow more freedom for the drummer's foot to play other foot-operated devices in the drum set, such as double basses, a cow bell, or other foot operated instruments. Therefore, with such freedom, a drummer could achieve more complicated rhythms not previously possible with the prior, related, or known technology of traditional hi-hat musical devices. The hi-hat musical device of the present invention solves this problem by functioning in the opposite manner as a traditional hi-hat stand, by acting as an “inverted hi-hat stand” that positions the two hi-hat cymbals disposed or biased against each other in the non-actuated closed position. A foot pedal can then be actuated by the drummer to separate the two cymbals to attain the open sound. Therefore, one foot is used to operate the hi-hat musical device foot pedal only when an open sound is desired instead of during the duration of playing time.
The present invention reverses the input motion from the foot pedal, the actuation lever to the invention, and applies a motion reversal means (e.g. a pulley) to produce the opposite motion of the hi-hat musical devices currently known in the industry while still yielding a similar setup and feel as such conventional devices, in order to free up a drummer's foot for other uses. This opposite motion is accomplished by direct contact without the intermediate step found in the prior art.
A principal objective of this invention, therefore, is to allow a drummer, particularly one who uses a lot of double bass beats or other demanding foot work, to incorporate an open hi-hat sound interchangeably with the usually dominant closed hi-hat sound in any desired rhythm, accomplished without needing an intermediate step to alternate between the two sounds from the same hi-hat musical device. Another advantage of the present invention is to allow the drummer to utilize other foot-operated percussion devices in a drum set, while alternating between the open and closed sounds of the hi-hat musical device without having to restrict a foot for the majority of the time to activate a switch lever or any other intermediate step found in other hi-hat musical devices. The hi-hat musical instrument or device of the present invention, as another objective, allows new and previously unobtainable beats or rhythms for a hi-hat instrument while still achieving current beats or rhythms.
Another objective addressed by the present invention is making the hi-hat musical device feel and react for the drummer as similarly as possible to known hi-hat musical devices on the market while providing the improvements of the present invention, in the simplest form for manufacturability and profitability considerations.
The potential applications of this invention are to produce a percussion musical sound or rhythm. The drummer, as a musician, will apply this invention to the fitting musical situations. This invention's general purpose is assumed to be applied in the music industry but is not limited to uses solely in association with a drum set.
No other patents have been found to teach the improvements of the present invention. Additional art has provided information regarding approaches for playing a hi-hat musical device, but none of the other art provides for the hi-hat musical device elements and functions in the manner as found in the apparatus of the present invention or for use in a related context with a hi-hat musical device. The present invention solves previously mentioned issues by operating in the opposite manner of current hi-hat musical devices.
There is known, related art concerning hi-hat musical devices for use by drummer musicians. However, such art neither discloses nor suggests the present invention as directed to an external motion reversal means, support tube, and operation rod to a hi-hat stand that functions in the manner of the present invention, with cymbal motion opposite that of a conventional hi-hat stand known in the industry. U.S. Pat. No. 7,115,805 to Vandervoort discloses a hi-hat musical device where the cymbals are normally maintained in a closed position and a pulley and cable system is employed to transfer a downward motion on the cable so that the shaft thereto is likewise pulled downward to separate the cymbals, opposite to the cymbal movement of the present invention. The '805 Patent does not function in the same manner as the present invention; which is directed to teaching the disposing of the motion reversal means exterior of the support system, and connected to a central operating rod extending the length of the tube and connected to a cymbal. The '805 Patent does not use a direct connection to actuate the cymbals to achieve a cymbal separation motion in the manner of the present invention. As well, the arrangement of the '805 Patent cymbal setup is nothing like what a “drum set drummer” typically is familiar with, not having a feel or sound as desired by drummers, and therefore not in an arrangement consistent with use by drummers familiar with the art. For example, the setup of the '805 Patent would not be desired if a drummer wants the diverse sounds and controls accomplished by a traditional hi-hat, as achieved by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,320,109 to Kuppers discloses a triple hi-hat operating mechanism including a deflection roller, a pulley mechanism, and string mechanism disposed interior of the central tube. Although the '109 Patent makes use of a deflection roller, it does not function in the same manner as the present invention and is not used in any manner that would enable a drummer to produce sounds and controls similar to a traditional hi-hat musical device as known to those in the art, but rather it produces alternative sounds.
Nor is the '805 Patent readily adaptable to other devices, such as the '109 Patent. The deflection roller of the '109 Patent is spring biased and shares no similarity in structure to the '805 Patent. The present invention employs an elongated operation rod extending centrally in the lower portion of the support tube, and directly connected proximal to a second, free end to the upper cymbal. Accordingly, the prior art neither discloses nor suggests the present invention as directed to a motion reversal means mounted to the exterior of the support tube and connected to a central operation rod extending the length of the support tube and connecting to a cymbal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,878,868 to McMillan discloses a portable hi-hat musical device in which cymbals are caused to be separated upon depression of an arm connected to a cable that actuates a spring loaded spindle housed between a pair of collars. The '868 patent uses a depression arm and a cable that separates hi-hat cymbals, but is done by an intermediate step with the use of a hand, inhibiting the drummer's movement and, thereby, his rhythm. U.S. Pat. No. 7,094,959 to Marnell discloses an alternating cymbal arrangement in which bottom cymbal is released from the top cymbal upon depression of a foot pedal and re-engaged with the top cymbal upon release of the foot pedal. Although the device of the '959 Patent employs a chain and rod mechanism, the rod is not coaxial with the central tube. As well, the '959 Patent has cymbals that, while normally in contact with each other, are not arranged to be struck by a drummer using a drumstick, and, thus, do not achieve traditional hi-hat sounds common to the prior art, such as the open and closed cymbal sounds of the present invention. The sound produced by the '959 Patent is limited to only one sound, a “click” sound.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,238 to Dasovich allows the hi-hat stand to have the cymbals in contact with one another in a neutral position, and the cymbals can be separated for the duration of a force or pressure applied to the foot pedal. Patent '238 accomplishes a function similar to the present invention but in a different way, by having the lower cymbal move away from a stationary upper cymbal. U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,490 to Cahill indicates that the hi-hat stand keeps the two cymbals in the closed state in the ready or neutral position, but does so using a cam, producing multiple beats per cycle of the foot pedal, not one, as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,708 to Kuppers is similar to the '238 Patent in that both allow the cymbals to be actuated, but in a variable manner. The '708 Patent also has a guide pulley that converts downward motion into an upward motion; however, this guide pulley is used to move the lower cymbal, and the cymbals are only guided against each other, not away, with the actuation of the foot pedal, functioning in a completely different manner than the present invention, and thereby not addressing the problems or objections solved hereby. The present invention moves the top cymbal away from the lower cymbal, instead of the traditional process of the '708 Patent, moving the upper cymbal into contact with the lower cymbal, and thereby creating less movement and different sounds.
Some of the prior art does allow a drummer to alternate between the opened and closed sound, but it only does so by an intermediate step or by restricting one's foot to continuously engage these hi-hat stands. The '238 Patent includes a reversible high-hat cymbal stand, actuating the lower cymbal to separate from the stationary upper cymbal, but without the use of a pulley to translate the motion, as in the present invention. The design of the '238 Patent is complicated, requiring an operator to switch modes in a time consuming and cumbersome manner, rendering such a device impractical. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,415,072 and 7,126,050 to Huang and Lombardi, respectively, provide for the use of what is commonly known as a drop clutch, allowing the upper cymbal to be disconnected from the operating rod by means of a lever, to drop into contact with the lower cymbal. Thus, these patents operate in a completely different manner and do not solve the problem of requiring an intermediate step. Therefore there is no quick and smooth transition between desired sounds by the use of these two patents.
The foregoing and other objectives, advantages, aspects, and features of the present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon consideration of the detailed description of a preferred embodiment, presented below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.